7.12.2017

My closet was always schizophrenic. As a kid, I loved to crash bang through a riot of color, and come up with a different character every day. Given my penchant for costume and spotlight, acting was the obvious path for me. Having many roles imposed upon me by many eyes meant having many outfits! YES PLEASE.

Long before I sewed, I turned to RTW to play the part I was after. And then Stitching Superpowers entered the mix. Armed with my new skills, I could truly make whatever "costume" I needed!

....except the role I've really always wanted to play is Technicolor Free Spirit, so whatever pattern I usually cast myself in (Business Woman, Ballet Patron, Demure Yogi) gets hacked & colorized so much it turns out to be nothing like the original design (see; Free Spirt), and nowadays I'd diagnose my closet as Delusional Bohemian.

Example: This is Vogue 9106, a Vintage reprint intended for crisp fabrics, not the swooshy drapey viscose you see here. Also intended: cut on sleeves & knee length skirt with side gathers and CF seam.

But I changed the role to suit me, with a button placket extending to crotch level, and a gathered waist that attached to a curved hip yoke that attached to another curved, gathered skirt panel...

And elastic picot trim on the neckline & armsyce, when I decided to lose the sleeves! I know it's a bit hard to see the style lines for the floral bouquets (See; Technicolor), so here's the line drawing, and here's what I did:

I forgot to draw in the added back waistline gathers. Listen... I'm no Gillian, with the cute computer sketches!

I wish I'd snapped a before/after pic, because removing those sleeves really changed the whole vibe for me. Also wishing I'd added some piping to highlight the intersection of hip yoke/gathered skirt panel, but, c'est la vie. I'll keep it in mind for another role.

This is the kind of typecasting I can get into.

Hey, wanna see another gal's take on this fabric? Unbeknownst to either of us, Sallie Oh and I cast ourselves in the same fabric, different colorway, for our June Mood Sewing Network projects. Sallie made a gorgeous knee length semi-shirt dress for a very romantic role indeed. Shorty made the maxi, Legs Diamond made the knee length! I smell a screwball buddy comedy in the making.

You are radiant in this dress and the sketch of your modifications is so much more dynamic and interesting than the original pattern. It's inspiring to see how your interpretations elevate and give life to what could be a standard and dated hippie dress style.

The lines are what drew me in, too! It does really change with a drapey fabric. If you go for it, be prepared to cuss a little bit on the darted gathers. I imagine that's an easier road with a crisp fabric ;) Now I want to do it up in a taffeta!

While it is important to be sensitive in our use of language, context matters. I see nothing wrong in referring to your own wardrobe as "unhinged" or "crazy." If you'd shown me your post beforehand, I would have pointed out that "schizophrenic" does not mean split personality, although the term is frequently misused in that sense.

I don't think that your use of the term was dismissive or hurtful of people with mental health issues. But good for you for engaging with a reader who disagreed with you. It's always better for a blogger to gracefully consider someone else's argument than to be defensive and nasty.